1 Nevada’s Virtual Charter Schools Student Achievement and School Performance within the Current Accountability Framework Introduction Charter schools are public schools that are independently run and receive greater flexibility over operations and management in exchange for increased performance accountability. These schools may operate like traditional public schools with their own buildings and campuses (referred to as “brick-and-mortar” schools). Some may only offer remote online instruction (“virtual charter schools”), and still others may provide some combination of remote and in-class instruction (‘blended” or “hybrid” charter schools). Data indicates that virtual public charter schools are an important educational option for many students and families in Nevada, but enrollment in these schools remains relatively limited. In Nevada, 1.2 percent of students, or 5,712 students out of the total K-12 enrollment of 485,768, were enrolled in virtual charter schools during the 2017-2018 school year. Recently, virtual charter schools around the country have faced increased public and legislative scrutiny, largely due to low academic performance, particularly when compared to other schools. In a 2015 study, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) concluded that, as a whole, academic growth in virtual charter school students was lower than in traditional public schools and brick-and-mortar charter schools. However, the study noted that some individual online schools outpaced the growth noted in more traditional educational settings. The study concluded that “it is possible for online charter schools to produce stronger growth, but it is not the common outcome.” 1 A study of New Mexico-based charter schools noted that virtual charter schools produced lower academic outcomes while also serving fewer at-risk students. 2 In Idaho, students attending virtual charter schools performed worse in both reading and mathematics than did students in traditional brick-and-mortar schools. 3 Table 1 below compares performance data across different types of schools in Nevada. Using the Silver State’s accountability framework, the Nevada School Performance Framework (NSPF), the average star rating is lower for state-sponsored elementary and middle school virtual charters than for other types of schools. Among high schools, both district-sponsored and state-sponsored virtual high schools have the lowest star rating among all categories of schools.